The Food For The Hungry Crew celebrates a day of giving!

On Friday, 12/8, a very large broadcast crew met and worked together to bring the 2023 Food For The Hungry Broadcast to the Knox County community.

We brought in equipment and expertise from several companies, over 25 college students from Mount Vernon Nazarene University, two MVNU professors and a lot of volunteers.

The Knox Memorial and Theater buzzed with excitement as we shared check presentations, total announcements from many events and collections, and handed out 21 Winter Grants to local food initiatives. It was an incredible day!
Our current Food For The Hungry total is $263,502.08 and 11 truckloads of food!
Click HERE to listen to the crew as they share their thoughts after a 7-hour broadcast raising funds and celebrating a giving community.
The drive continues until 12/31 and you can still give at http://www.foodforthehungrycares.org
Last year, the extra donations over the 2022 goal enabled Food For The Hungry to give out $25,000 in Summer Grants to help feed kids over the summer months. Every dollar counts!
Thanks for helping us to live out the mission, “Working Together to Care for Our Neighbors”!

WNZR presents the December 2023 MVNU Presidential Update

MVNU’s new President, Dr. Carson Castleman, talked with WNZR with our monthly MVNU Update.

Dr. Carson Castleman talked about wrapping up fall semester.
He shared that he is so thankful for the opportunity to come to MVNU to serve along the faculty, staff, and students.
He announced the hiring of a two new Vice Presidents.
The new VP of Spiritual Life and Church Relations is Rev. David Mills.
The new VP for Enrollment and Marketing is Johnna Vanover, a 2011 MVNU graduate.

Dr. Carson Castleman also shared an update on the Strategic Investment Projects or SIP’s.
He shared the latest news on the Master of Science and Speech Language Pathology, Master of Social Work and Doctorate Program of Nurse Practitioners.

MVNU is also starting an exciting program called Ignite. This new two-year certificate program is designed to support high school graduates with intellectual disabilities.

Dr. Castleman also talked about two challenges for all colleges and universities – budgeting and enrollment. He shared his plans for building lasting connections and opportunities for growth.

Dr. Castleman talked about his top priorities for MVNU in the year 2024.
His top priority is enrollment, and he wants others to know and experience MVNU.

He shares a special message for students, faculty and staff as the fall semester ends.
He also shares a family update and the Castleman plans for Christmas.

Click HERE to stay up to date with news from MVNU.

The Turkey Trot returns to Thanksgiving Morning!

Are you ready for Thanksgiving?
The Morning Thing has an idea on how to make the day even better.
Come out to the annual Turkey Trot to benefit Food For The Hungry.
We talked with Scott Burgess from WeRunMV about this annual event.
When: Thanksgiving morning. Registration opens up at 8am, the race starts at 9am
Where: R.R. Hodges Chapel on the campus of Mount Vernon Nazarene University
Who: Everyone is invited including canines
What to bring: Non-perishable food and dollars to benefit the Food For The Hungry campaign

Scott talks about how cash feed more. $1.00 = $4.89 of buying power at the Mid-Ohio Food Collective.
All donations stay here in Knox County to support families in our community.

To find out more, go to www.foodforthehungrycares.org

WNZR shares the November MVNU Presidential Update

MVNU’s new President, Dr. Carson Castleman stopped by WNZR to share the November Presidential Update.
He discussed his first month on the job, the challenges that he is facing and changes that he has already made for MVNU.
He talked about the change for the positional statement and recent administrative staff changes.
Dr. Castleman also shared his passion for MVNU’s enrollment and how he plans to personally be involved in the recruitment process.
Dr. Castleman shared his top priorities for the university as we wrap up 2023 and head into 2024. He also shared the steps he is taking now to help MVNU meet these challenges.
We also received a family update and celebrate the upcoming wedding of Dr. Castleman’s daughter.
We talked about Thanksgiving, time with family, and favorite dishes.
Dr. Castleman shared a special message for students, faculty and staff. He wrapped up our time by sharing how we can pray for him and his family.
Enjoy the conversation.

The Dogwood Blossoms will be in concert at MVNU this Sunday 10/15

WNZR’s Marcy Rinehart had the chance to chat with Jeff Dolan, Front Line Director of Dogwood Blossoms Chorus. You can access the full conversation below.
Jeff shared about his background in music and how he got connected to the Dogwood Blossoms.
He talked about what makes this group special and how you become a member of the group.
He also shared the details of their concert on Sunday, 10/15.
The theme of this concert is “Thank You for the Music”.

The concert will be held in Thorne Performance Hall, inside the R.R. Hodges Chapel.
It starts at 3pm. Tickets are $18 at the door for adults. Kids 10 and under are free.

You can stay connected with the Dogwood Blossoms at their website http://www.dogwoodblossoms.org/
or on their Facebook Page.
If you are interested in membership, please call 740-324-5229. Following the concert, Jeff says that they will be diving right into their holiday music and plans for 2024.

WNZR talks with MVNU’s new President – Dr. Carson Castleman

WNZR presents the October 2023 MVNU Presidential Update.
MVNU’s new President, Dr. Carson Castleman, talked with WNZR during his first week on the job.

Dr. Castleman is MVNU’s 8th President. He shared his history working in higher education including starting out in the MVNU Admissions Office. He shared memories from being part of this community 26 years ago.

Dr. Castleman also shared how he heard about this position and how he came to the decision to put his name into consideration.

Dr. Castleman gives his top priorities at MVNU which include focusing on growing enrollment, building a relationship with the Church of the Nazarene, and fostering a culture of hospitality. He also shares what it means to be Unapologetically Christian as a university.

Dr. Castleman shared about his family and his process of moving to Mount Vernon. He shared messages for students, faculty, and staff. He also shared how we can be praying for him and his family during this transition.

Click HERE to stay up to date with news from MVNU.

Let’s Cultivate Gratitude!

It can be a difficult thing to do, but its not necessarily about trying to stay positive all the time. Instead, its more about trying to pull the good from the situations and circumstances of every day life. If we do this, we can find that there is a lot in life to be thankful for! God calls for us to count our blessings, so lets try and find some good to be thankful for. How can we do this? Well, our cohosts found a few great ways to get started in your journey of cultivating a gratitude practice!

Here are a few examples of how to practice gratitude!

KEEP A GRATITUDE JOURNAL.

Studies show that keeping a gratitude journal can have positive psychological and physiological effects. There are a variety of ways to build this practice, including:

  • Try the “three good things” exercise where you keep a daily record of three good things for which you are grateful.
  • Start a “G.L.A.D.” practice. G.L.A.D. is an acronym for Gratitude, Learned, Accomplished, Delight. It’s about finding joy and balance by paying attention to certain aspects of daily life that frequently go unnoticed.

WRITE THANK-YOU NOTES.

Make your gratitude practice social by writing and sending thank you letters to someone who has done something for you. (Note: emails and even texts count.) Studies show that this act can strengthen relationships, help people to appreciate what they’ve received in life, and feel like they’ve given something back to those who have helped them.

Click HERE for the full list from the John Hopkins University blog.

Blessing Offor is coming to Sonfest 2023 at MVNU

Sonfest is this Saturday (9/16) at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. All this week, The Morning Thing and The Afternoon Drive are featuring conversations with the artists coming to Sonfest this year.

Today, we talked with Blessing Offor. He shares some of his favorites with us including coffee, favorite snack while touring, favorite book and some of his best memories while being on the road. He also talks about some of his favorite artists that have worked with him on some powerful collaborations.

Blessing Offor gives us a preview of Saturday’s show and encourages everyone to come and have fun at Sonfest. He is passionate about creating music for everyone!

We also play Rapid Fire with Blessing Offor and learn what instrument he would like to play and the song he wishes he had written.

Click HERE for more details about Sonfest 2023 and to see the complete schedule.

Click HERE to connect with Blessing Offor.

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